Cross border insolvencies and financial restructurings are remarkably opaque considering we live in the Information Age. The mission of the Centre of Main Interest (the COMI) is to light some candles in the darkness and create a forum for further discussion. The Law Offices of Tally M. Wiener, Esq. are pleased to publish the COMI blog.
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Friday, August 24, 2012

German Shipbuilder P+S On Brink Of Insolvency

Per www.globalinsolvency.com:

Thu., August 23, 2012

Troubled German shipbuilder P+S Werften, which operates two of the country's biggest shipyards, has asked some of its customers to pay for ships in advance to bridge a liquidity shortfall and avert insolvency, Reuters reported. New Chief Executive Ruediger Fuchs has approached Danish shipper DFDS, passenger ferry operator Scandlines and Greenland's Royal Arctic Line, a P+S spokesman said on Wednesday. P+S had planned to file for insolvency on Wednesday, the spokesman said, the possibility of receiving funds from customers gave Fuchs a couple more days to come up with a rescue plan. The global shipbuilding industry has been suffering from a slump in demand for sea freight and an oversupply of container ships ordered before the global economic crisis. European shipyards have also been hurt by competition from China and Korea. In Germany, deliveries dropped by more than half to 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) last year. The most prominent victim was Hamburg-based Sietas, the country's oldest shipyard, which filed for insolvency in November, crushed by its debt. P+S Werften, which has about 2,000 employees, ran into financial trouble when it fell behind schedule in delivering new ships, sapping its liquidity, the company spokesman said. It received a German state guarantee for a 152.4 million euro rescue loan, but Fuchs, who was appointed CEO this month, found that those funds were insufficient to finish building any more ships on order.